Super capers

The Lego video game franchise has always been entertaining enough, though in the last few years it's arguably succumbed to repetition as far as level design is concerned.

We saw it with the first Lego game on 3DS, Lego Pirates of the Caribbean, and we even saw it back with the original Lego Batman on DS - both enjoyable titles, but we were left wishing the puzzles had a little more oomph to them.

With Lego Batman 2: DC Super Heroes, Traveller's Tales appears finally to be venturing out of its comfort zone. It's all still a bit too easy for anyone older than 13, but it's definitely one of the better Lego games in recent times.

Too many studs

The baddies of the DC Comics Universe have come out to play, spelling trouble for Batman and Robin. Fortunately, the duo also have a variety of DC heroes to help them out, including Superman and the Green Lantern.

Lego Batman 2 features much of the same gameplay as previous Lego games, with simple 3D platforming that revolves around collecting pretty much everything in sight, solving puzzles by building objects out of Lego, and button-bashing enemies into non-existence.

The Story mode is phenomenally huge, with dozens of hours of gameplay needed to secure a 100 per cent completion rating. The story that accompanies it is filled to the brim with quirky humour, and it's made all the more entertaining by the addition of voice-acting.

What Lego Batman 2 does that really distinguishes it from previous Lego games is offer up puzzles that don't simply involve interact with the most obvious thing in the room over and over again. There are actual puzzles to solve.

The game also introduces suits for the heroes to wear that grant them special powers and abilities that allow them to complete specific tasks. These provide some wonderful ideas that have definitely been missing to date.

Up to bat

And Lego Batman 2 continues to offer even more content on top of that.

Local co-op lets two players blast through the Story mode together, while special Justice League missions are unlocked when you complete the Story mode - these are wave-battlers with scoreboards, essentially. There's even StreetPass features, just in case that wasn't enough.

Alas, while the puzzles have definitely improved it's all still rather easy to work your way through the game, with nary a challenging section. This can make the game feel quite repetitive later on, as you long for your brain to be really tested.

If you're looking to satisfy your inner child, however, Lego Batman 2 will do you right. You don't need to be a huge DC Super Heroes fan to appreciate the story, and you'll feel like you've collected the entire world by the time you reach the very end.